1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic device, an ultrasonic module, and an ultrasonic measurement apparatus.
2. Related Art
In the past, there has been known an ultrasonic diagnostic device (ultrasonic measurement apparatus) for transmitting/receiving an ultrasonic wave using an ultrasonic probe to thereby form an ultrasonic image (see, e.g., JP-A-2011-160856 (Document 1)).
In the device described in Document 1, the ultrasonic probe has a transmitting array and a receiving array. Among these arrays, the transmitting array is configured as a one-dimensional array having a plurality of fundamental resonators, which correspond to an ultrasonic wave as a fundamental wave, arranged in one direction (a scanning direction) in accordance with an arrangement condition corresponding to the fundamental wave. Further, the receiving array is configured as a one-dimensional array having a plurality of harmonic resonators, which correspond to an ultrasonic wave as a high-order harmonic wave with respect to the fundamental wave, arranged in the one direction described above in accordance with a predetermined arrangement condition corresponding to the order of a high-order harmonic wave. The transmitting array and the receiving array are arranged in parallel and close to each other.
Incidentally, in the ultrasonic array having the resonators described above, namely apertures, for transmitting/receiving the ultrasonic wave arranged to form the one-dimensionally array, by increasing the aperture size in a slicing direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the ultrasonic wave.
For example, in the case of converging the ultrasonic wave using the acoustic lens and so on, by increasing the size in the slicing direction of the aperture (transmitting aperture) for transmitting the ultrasonic wave, it is possible to converge the ultrasonic wave into a smaller area to thereby improve the resolution.
Further, by increasing the size in the slicing direction of the aperture (receiving aperture) for receiving the ultrasonic wave, it is possible to increase the receiving area of the ultrasonic wave. Thus, the receiving sensitivity of the ultrasonic wave in the receiving aperture can be improved.
However, in the device described in Document 1 mentioned above, the receiving array is disposed at a position approaching in the slicing direction to the transmitting array. Therefore, there is a problem that if the sizes of the transmitting aperture and the receiving aperture in the slicing direction are increased, the size of the whole of the ultrasonic array in the slicing direction increases, and thus, the ultrasonic probe grows in size. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve both of miniaturization of the ultrasonic probe and an improvement of the detection accuracy of the high-order harmonic wave with respect to the fundamental wave.